Field
The present invention relates to a medical or dental system with at least a first transmitting and/or receiving unit and at least a second transmitting and/or receiving unit, as well as to a method for transmitting electrical signals and/or data between the at least first transmitting and/or receiving unit and the at least second transmitting and/or receiving unit of the medical or dental system.
Description of Prior Art
Such medical or in particular dental systems preferably are used for the processing of human or animal tissues. To this end, they preferably comprise at least one medical, in particular a dental, straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece, a drive unit and/or a control unit which is or can be connected to the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece, as well as at least one accessory designed for the operation with the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece and/or the drive unit and/or control unit.
The at least one straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece is preferably designed to drive a tool which has an effect or works on a treatment site. The tool preferably is set in motion by means of an electric motor, a pneumatic drive, or a piezo drive, which preferably is located in the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece or is connected thereto, in particular by means of a coupling device. Furthermore, the at least one straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece can be designed to dispense radiation, fluids, energy, abrasive media, and/or to provide measurement data.
To drive and/or control the medical straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece, it is connected to the drive unit and/or control unit, preferably by means of a supply line. The drive unit and/or control unit provides the working media needed for the medical straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece and/or tool, such as for example spray air and/or spray water for cooling, drive fluid, in particular compressed air, radiation or electrical energy to supply the electrical components located in the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece, such as for example one or more light-emitting diodes to illuminate treatment sites, sensors or electrical memories to store data, preferably instrument-related data.
Furthermore, the medical systems preferably comprise at least one accessory designed for the operation with the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece and/or for the operation with the drive unit and/or control unit. Examples thereof include: Instrument holders for the storage and support of the medical straight handpieces or contra-angled handpieces or of tools, glasses, especially protective goggles or filter glasses to detect an anomaly on a tooth, hand mirrors, foot pedals to actuate the drive unit and/or control unit, display elements which are connected to the drive unit and/or control unit by cables or in a wireless manner, or means to identify the user, such as for example magnetic cards or chip cards.
The user has processing devices available for the processing, in particular the cleaning, disinfecting, and/or sterilizing of the at least one medical, in particular dental, straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece as well as for the processing of the accessories of the medical system. These sterilizers, autoclaves or thermal disinfection units direct at least one operating medium into a processing chamber, in which the at least one medical, in particular dental, straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece or accessory is held, preferably by a processing holder, or directly pass the medium to the at least one medical straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece. As the operating medium, preferably fluids are used, such as for example hot water or vapors, in particular saturated steam.
It is known from the prior art to provide the at least one straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece and/or accessory of the medical system with an encoding in order to supply the working media of the drive unit and/or control unit and/or the operating media of the processing device to the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece automatically, depending on the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece or accessory of the medical system which is connected through the supply hose to the drive unit and/or control unit or which is located in the processing device. To this end, in particular the encoding comprises identification data, such as for example a serial number, which can be read by the drive unit and/or control unit and/or by the processing device by means of a reading device.
Such a medical, in particular a dental, system is known from EP 1 392 193 B1.
This known medical system comprises a supply unit for supplying at least one medical straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece with media, in particular with water, compressed air, or light, wherein a supply line runs from the supply unit, at the end of which a coupling part, which can be coupled to a corresponding coupling part of the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece, is disposed. A memory element for identification data is provided in the interior of the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece which is accessible to the corresponding coupling part of the supply line. Reading the memory element, in particular the transmission of data from the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece to the supply unit, is achieved either by mechanical contacting using electrical contacts in the two coupling parts or by wireless contacting by means of two transponders.
Furthermore, the known medical system comprises a processing device with at least one coupling part which can also be coupled to the corresponding coupling part of the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece. Reading the memory element in the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece, in this case, also takes place by means of a mechanical contacting using electrical contacts or by means of a wireless contacting using two transponders located in the coupling area of the two coupling parts.
A disadvantage of this configuration of the medical system is the transmission of electrical signals, in particular data, between the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece and the supply unit and/or the processing device. The transmission of signals and/or data is possible only in a coupled state of the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece with the supply unit and/or with the processing device. In particular, in the case of hardwired transmission of signals using electrical contacts, the coupling parts of the straight handpiece or contra-angled handpiece, the supply unit, and/or the processing device must be connected with each other.
But also when using transponders for wireless transmission, which have transmitting and/or receiving coils for the transmitting and/or receiving of signals, coupling of both coupling parts is required, because of the low transmitting and/or receiving power of the coils due to the small size of the transmitting and/or receiving coils and because of the metallic materials in the components of the medical system, in particular in their coupling parts.